INSIDE INGLEWOOD-During a mid-October inter-departmental meeting between Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) and the City of Inglewood, the rumors of an NFL stadium in Inglewood were brought up by state-appointed IUSD Superintendent Dr. Don Brann.
In an exclusive interview with Dr. Brann, he disclosed to this journalist that he had asked the mayor, "How serious is this [NFL stadium]"? The mayor was said to have answered, "Very serious, and we should know in about six weeks."
That "six weeks" may mean the no longer than the end of November.
The NFL stadium is thought to be what will replace Hollywood Park. The mayor remains insistent that the site will be a 3,000-residental and retail development to be called Hollywood Park Tomorrow. It has been said that there will be an IUSD school on the site too.
According to Dr. Brann, "[I] was told there is no land set aside in [Hollywood Park Tomorrow] for a school."
A corroborative clue to the site's future may have been revealed in an October 2 story titled "Are the St. Louis Rams heading to Hollywood Park" on the 2urbangirls.com blog. Among other things, it is disclosed that the owner of the NFL Rams is married to the heir to the Walton family which owns Wal-Mart. In turn, Wal-Mart owns the parking lot adjacent to Hollywood Park that an NFL stadium would require to accommodate it.
At a November 2 town hall meeting in Inglewood, the mayor claimed that the rumors about an NFL stadium are just that. "Since the Wal-Mart site owns the parking lot next door and they want nearly $100 million, that means the [NFL] stadium is just a rumor," Butts said.
Time will tell if the NFL will be Inglewood. But, considering the lack of enthusiasm for other sites ostensibly in the running, Inglewood … rumor and all … appears to be as good a bet as any.
(Randall Fleming is a veteran journalist and magazine publisher. He has worked at and for the New York Post, the Brooklyn Spectator and the Los Feliz Ledger. He is currently editor-in-chief at the Morningside Park Chronicle, a monthly newspaper based in Inglewood, CA and on-line at www.MorningsideParkChronicle.com. Views expressed and/or conclusions reached by Mr. Fleming are his and do not necessarily reflect those of CityWatch.) Graphic credit: LA Curbed.
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 90
Pub: Nov 8, 2013